Tennis star collapses at tournament and forced to retire weeks after Wimbledon incident

Chinese tennis player Yibing Wu collapsed at a tournament and was forced to retire from the match weeks after suffering a similar episode at Wimbledon

Tennis player Yibing Wu collapsed while competing at the Mubadala Citi DC Open and was forced to retire after leading the match 4-1, with the incident coming weeks after a scary moment at Wimbledon. Wu started to lose balance as he approached his chair and eventually fell at a changeover in front of a ballboy.

Two men then tried to help Wu to his feet but the 23-year-old wasn’t in good enough shape to stand on his own two feet and was forced to retire, meaning opponent Yosuke Watanuk, 25, progressed to the next round of the tournament. The Chinese tennis player had a similar incident at SW19 earlier this month while competing against Frances Tiafoe.

Wu appeared to be suffering from breathing problems before being checked out by medics. He collapsed and went off-court with medics to be checked over before being deemed fit enough to continue the match with Tiafoe, who went on to win the first-round match 7-6 6-3 6-4.

Wu’s heart rate was measured at a whopping 187 at Wimbledon, leaving tennis fans concerned for his health. But Wu put down the episode at the Grand Slam down to food he ate the night before. He said: “There was something wrong with the food I ate last night – I even felt like I was losing my consciousness out there. I was better after my medical timeout, but it still affected my breathing. I feel good to play like I did, given my situation. I will go for a further check-up later.”